Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram is being accused by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) of possible crimes against humanity, which includes the deaths of thousands of Christians and Muslims in the African nation.
“The information available provide a reasonable basis for believing that in July 2009 Boko Haram launched a widespread and systematic attack that resulted in the deaths of 1,200 civilians, Muslims and Christians in different parts of Nigeria,” wrote Fatou Bensouda, Prosecutor of the ICC in the report.
Boko Haram has made it clear that its intent is on driving Christians out and imposing Islamic rule on a country that is divided between geographic and faith lines, with most Christians concentrated in the South and Muslims in the North.
Several human rights organizations have condemned the attacks on churches, congregations and government buildings, but despite President Goodluck Jonathan’s attempts to stop the violence, the bloodshed continues. On Monday, 35 people were killed in separate gun battles between Boko Haram members and Nigerian security forces in the northeast Borno state, Reuters reported.